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2019 in archosaur paleontology
This article records new taxa of fossil archosaurs of every kind that are scheduled described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of archosaurs that are scheduled to occur in the year 2019. General research * An archosaur trackway consisting of 10 successive pes imprints will be described from the Upper Triassic Irohalene Member of the Timezgadiouine Formation (Morocco) by Zouheir et al. (2019), supporting a cosmopolitan distribution of pentadactyl but functionally tridactyl chirotheres (Parachirotherium) and grallatorids across the Ladinian-Carnian boundary, and documenting the occurrence of very large Eubrontes trackmakers in the early Carnian. * A study on assemblages of nesting ring-billed gulls, California gulls, American white pelicans and double-crested cormorants at Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge (Montana, United States), evaluating their utility as taphonomic models for interpreting nesting sites of fossils archosaurs, will be published by Ferguson, Varricchio & Ferguson (2019). * A study on size and shape differences between brains and endocasts of extant American alligator and domestic chicken, and on its implications for inferring whether endocasts are a reliable proxy for brain morphology in archosaurs in general, is published by Watanabe et al. (2019). Pseudosuchians Research * A study on the bone histology of Coahomasuchus chathamensis, and on its implications for inferring ontogeny and growth strategy of this species, will be published by Hoffman, Heckert & Zanno (2019). * A study on the anatomy of the best-preserved skeleton of Prestosuchus chiniquensis, as well as on the phylogenetic relationships of this species, will be published by Roberto-Da-Silva et al. (2019). * Description of the anatomy of the skull of a new specimen of Prestosuchus chiniquensis from the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone of the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence, Santa Maria Super sequence (Brazil) is published by Mastrantonio et al. (2019), who also present the first description of a rauisuchian cranial endocast. * A study on habitat shifts during the evolutionary history of Crocodylomorpha is published by Wilberg, Turner & Brochu (2019). * A study on the quality of the fossil record of non‐marine crocodylomorphs is published by Mannion et al. (2019). * New fossil material (an isolated left dentary) of Orthosuchus stormbergi will be described from the Upper Elliot Formation (South Africa) by Dollman, Viglietti & Choiniere (2019), who also examine the stratigraphic positions of all valid crocodylomorph specimens from the main Karoo Basin. * Teleosaurid and metriorhynchid teeth will be described from, respectively, the Middle Jurassic (Aalenian) and Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) of Slovakia by Čerňanský et al. (2019), representing the first record of members of both families from the country. * Description of new fossil material of Pepesuchus from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation (Brazil) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this taxon is published by Geroto & Bertini (2019). * Partial dyrosaurid skeleton discovered in the 1930s in Paleocene (Danian) strata along the Atlantic coast of Senegal will be described by Martin, Sarr & Hautier (2019). * Revision of the large-sized neosuchians Kansajsuchus and "Turanosuchus" from the Late Cretaceous of Central Asia is published by Kuzmin et al. (2019), who interpret Kansajsuchus as a member of Paralligatoridae, and consider Turanosuchus aralensis to be a member of the genus Kansajsuchus belonging or related to the species K. extensus. * A study on the inner cavities of the skull of the holotype specimen of Lohuecosuchus megadontos is published by Serrano-Martínez et al. (2019). * New crocodylian fossils, documenting the presence of four previously unrecognised alligatoroids, are described from the Lower Miocene Castillo Formation (Venezuela) by Solórzano et al. (2019). * Redescription of the holotype specimen of Mourasuchus arendsi from the Urumaco Formation of Venezuela will be published by Cidade et al. (2019). * A study on the histology of long bones of extant yacare caiman and fossil caimans from the Upper Miocene–Pliocene Solimões Formation (Brazil) will be published by Andrade et al. (2019). * Fossils of a specimen of Asiatosuchus depressifrons from the late Paleocene of Mont de Berru (France), representing the oldest European crocodyloid remains reported so far, will be described by Delfino et al. (2019). * A review of the taxonomic diversity of the crocodiles from the early Pliocene of Kanapoi (Kenya) will be published by Brochu (2019). * Evidence of gavialine‐specific atavistic characters in the skeletons of fossil tomistomines Penghusuchus pani and Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis is presented by Iijima & Kobayashi (2019). * A revision of members of the genus Gavialis described on the basis of fossils from the Sivalik Hills of India and Pakistan will be published by Martin (2019). * A review of the fossil crocodylomorph fauna of the Cenozoic of South America is published by Cidade, Fortier & Hsiou (2019). New taxa Non-avian dinosaurs Research * A study aiming to identify the most likely area for the geographic origin of dinosaurs will be published by Lee et al. (2019). * A study evaluating the impact of new fossil discoveries and changing phylogenetic hypotheses on biogeographical scenarios for dinosaur origins will be published by Marsola et al. (2019). * A study on the chronostratigraphic position of the uppermost Cretaceous dinosaur localities from south-western Europe, and on their implications for inferring the course of the Maastrichtian dinosaur turnover, is published by Fondevilla et al. (2019). * A diverse assemblage of dinosaur footprints is described from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian-Valanginian) Ashdown Formation of East Sussex, southern England by Shillito & Davies (2019). * Theropod footprints with anatomical features which don't match any known Gondwanan theropod with preserved pedal bones are described from the Albian Lagarcito Formation (Argentina) by Melchor et al. (2019), who name a new ichnotaxon Picunichnus quijadaensis Melchor. * A study on the ichnotaxonomy of theropod footprints from the Lower Cretaceous Kitadani Formation (Japan) is published by Tsukiji et al. (2019). * Small theropod footprints representing the ichnogenus Minisauripus, preserving high-definition skin traces, are described from the Lower Cretaceous Jinju Formation (South Korea) by Kim et al. (2019). * A study on putative theropod footprints assigned to the ichnogenus Eubrontes is published by Weems (2019), who argues that bipedal sauropodomorphs were more likely trackmakers of these tracks. * A study on sauropod tracks from the Jurassic Tafaytour tracksites (Argana Basin, Morocco), and on their implications for inferring forelimb posture in sauropod dinosaurs, is published by Lallensack et al. (2019). * Description of dinosaur egg fossils from the late Early Cretaceous Chaochuan Formation (Zhejiang, China) is published by Zhang et al. (2019), who name a new ootaxon Multifissoolithus chianensis. * A study on the phylogenetic placement of Chilesaurus diegosuarezi and its implications for the phylogenetic relationships of major dinosaur groups will be published by Müller & Dias-da-Silva (2019). * New spinosaurid specimens are described from the Kem Kem Beds (Morocco) by Arden et al. (2019), who interpret these specimens as providing evidence of aquatic adaptations in the skulls of spinosaurids, and name a new clade Spinosaurini. * New fossil material of juvenile spinosaurids is described from the Kem Kem Beds by Lakin & Longrich (2019). * New theropod fossils, including partial tail vertebra of a member of Megaraptora and an association of tail vertebrae and pelvic elements displaying a combination of characteristics that are present in megaraptorid and carcharodontosaurid theropods, are described from the early Late Cretaceous Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge, New South Wales (Australia) by Brougham, Smith & Bell (2019). * Partial postcranial skeleton of a probable carcharodontosaurian theropod is described from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) Freixial Formation (Portugal) by Malafaia et al. (2019). * Description of the anatomy of the axial skeleton of Concavenator corcovatus is published by Cuesta, Ortega & Sanz (2019). * The first neurocranial and paleoneurological description of Dilong paradoxus, comparing it with large tyrannosaurids, will be published by Kundrát et al. (2019). * A study on the tooth replacement patterns in tyrannosaurid theropods, as indicated by data from a juvenile specimen of Tarbosaurus bataar, will be published by Hanai & Tsuihiji (2019). * A study on the complexity and modularity of the skull of Tyrannosaurus rex is published by Werneburg et al. (2019). * Description of an ornithomimid specimen UALVP 16182, putatively assigned to the genus Dromiceiomimus, and a study on the validity of this genus is published by Macdonald & Currie (2019). * A study on the anatomy of the skull of Beipiaosaurus inexpectus is published by Liao & Xu (2019). * Histological analysis of the forelimb bones of Daliansaurus liaoningensis is presented by Shen et al. (2019). * Evidence indicating that the pennaceous feathers of Anchiornis were composed of both feather β-keratins and α-keratins is presented by Pan et al. (2019). * A dinosauriform femur, possibly of a juvenile specimen of the species Pampadromaeus barberenai, will be described from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil by Müller et al. (2019). * A study on the bony labyrinth scale and geometry through ontogeny in Massospondylus carinatus, evaluating whether the putative gait change from quadrupedal juvenile to bipedal adult is reflected in labyrinth morphology, will be published by Neenan et al. (2019). * A study on the leverage of forelimb muscles in the transition from the narrow‐gauge stance of basal sauropods to a wide‐gauge stance in titanosaurs will be published by Klinkhamer et al. (2019). * An isolated tooth-crown of a member of Eusauropoda, possibly a member of Mamenchisauridae or Euhelopodidae, is described from the Upper Jurassic Qigu Formation (China) by Maisch & Matzke (2019), representing the first record of an eusauropod from this formation reported so far. * A cervical vertebra of a member of the genus Omeisaurus will be described from the Middle Jurassic Lower Member of the Shaximiao Formation (China) by Tan et al. (2019), providing new information on the skeletal morphology of this genus, and representing the easternmost occurrence of Omeisaurus reported so far. * Redescription of the complete series of the neck vertebrae of Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis will be published by Zhang et al. (2019). * Partial vertebra of a sauropod dinosaur belonging to the group Turiasauria is described from the Lower Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup (United Kingdom) by Mannion (2019). * Description of isolated sauropod vertebrae from the Oxford Clay Formation (United Kingdom), indicative of a higher sauropod biodiversity in this formation than previously recognised, is published by Holwerda, Evans & Liston (2019). * A study on the phylogenetic relationships of the Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania (Australodocus bohetii, Janenschia robusta and Tendaguria tanzaniensis) is published by Mannion et al. (2019). * Description of the anatomy of the braincase of Malawisaurus dixeyi is published by Andrzejewski et al. (2019), who present digital reconstructions of the endocast and inner ear of this species based on CT scanning. * Ibiricu, Martínez & Casal (2019) present the reconstruction of the pelvic and hindlimb musculature of Epachthosaurus sciuttoi. * Fossils of a titanosaur sauropod related to Rapetosaurus and the indeterminate Italian titanosaur specimen MSNM V7157 are described from the Algora vertebrate fossil site located in the Cenomanian strata of the Arenas de Utrillas Formation (Spain) by Mocho et al. (2019). * New sauropod trackway, representing the first record of a narrow-gauge sauropod trackway from the Cenomanian reported so far, will be described from the Candeleros Formation (Argentina) by Heredia et al. (2019). * New reconstruction of the jaw musculature of ornithischian dinosaurs, rejecting the notion of presence of novel "cheek" muscle, is proposed by Nabavizadeh (2019). * A study on the taphonomy and histology of the ornithischian (ankylosaurian and ornithopod) fossils from the La Cantalera-1 site (Lower Cretaceous Blesa Formation, Spain) is published by Perales-Gogenola et al. (2019). * A study on the morphological diversity of stegosaurs through the evolutionary history of the group will be published by Romano (2019). * A study on pathological characteristics of left femur of a specimen of Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis from the Late Jurassic of China will be published by Hao et al. (2019), who interpret this specimen as probably affected by bone tumor. * Description of an assemblage of 12 partial, articulated or associated ankylosaurian skeletons and thousands of isolated bones and teeth from the Cretaceous (Santonian) Iharkút vertebrate locality (Hungary) will be published by Ősi et al. (2019). * A study on the age of the Kulinda locality (south-eastern Siberia, Russia) which yielded fossils of Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus is published by Cincotta et al. (2019). * A study on the nature of the fluvial systems of Laramidia during the Late Cretaceous, as indicated by data from vertebrate and invertebrate fossils from the Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah, and on the behavior of hadrosaurid dinosaurs over these landscapes, will be published by Crystal et al. (2019). * New information on the anatomy of the skeleton of Pachyrhinosaurus perotorum is presented by Tykoski, Fiorillo & Chiba (2019), who also provide a new diagnosis of this species. New taxa Birds Research * A study on the impact of varying oxygen concentrations, global temperatures and air densities on the flight performance of extinct birds and on major diversification events which took place during the evolution of birds is published by Serrano et al. (2019). * A study on the total mass of the dentition of Mesozoic birds, and on the impact of the reduction and loss of teeth on total body mass of Mesozoic birds, is published by Zhou, Sullivan & Zhang (2019). * A review of the available evidence of the diet of Mesozoic birds, especially those known from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Lagerstätte (China), is published by O’Connor (2019). * A study on the diversity of melanosome morphology in iridescent feathers of extant birds, and on its implications for inferring iridescence in fossil feathers in general and in Eocene birds cf. Primotrogon and Scaniacypselus in particular, is published by Nordén et al. (2019). * A study on Praeornis sharovi from the Late Jurassic of Kazakhstan will be published by Agnolin, Rozadilla & Carvalho (2019), who interpret the fossil as a tail feather of a basal bird. * A geochemical halo of the calamus of the holotype feather of Archaeopteryx lithographica, detected using Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence, is reported by Kaye et al. (2019), who also assess the implications of their findings for the identification of this feather. * A comparative study of all named taxa referred to Confuciusornithiformes, taxonomic revision of the group and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of members of the group is published by Wang, O'Connor & Zhou (2019). * A remarkably well-preserved foot of an enantiornithine bird, accompanied by part of the wing plumage, is described from the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar by Xing et al. (2019). * A study comparing the hindlimb morphology of hesperornithiforms and modern foot-propelled diving birds is published by Bell, Wu & Chiappe (2019). * A study on bird footprints from the Maastrichtian–Danian Yacoraite Formation (Argentina) is published by de Valais & Cónsole-Gonella (2019). * A fossil tinamou belonging to the genus Eudromia, exceeding the size range of living species of the genus, will be described from the Lujanian sediments in Marcos Paz County (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) by Cenizo et al. (2019). * A study on the microstructure of the bones of Vegavis iaai is published by Garcia Marsà, Agnolín & Novas (2019). * A nearly complete tarsometatarsus of the least seedsnipe (Thinocorus rumicivorus) will be described from the Ensenadan of Argentina by Picasso, De Mendoza & Gelfo (2019). * Pedal phalanx of a penguin affected by osteomyelitis is described from the Eocene of West Antarctica by Jadwiszczak & Rothschild (2019). * Globuli ossei (subspherical structures of endochondral origin, inserted in the hypertrophic cartilage of long bones) are reported for the first time in a bird (a fossil penguin Delphinornis arctowskii from Antarctica) by Garcia Marsà, Tambussi & Cerda (2019). * A study on changes in the population size of the Adélie penguin colonies and relative krill abundance in the Prydz Bay (Antarctica) during the 2nd millennium, as indicated by data from ornithogenic sediment cores from the Vestfold Hills, will be published by Gao et al. (2019). * A study on the origin and evolution of the Haast's eagle and the Eyles's harrier, as indicated by complete mitochondrial genome data, is published by Knapp et al. (2019). * A study on the holotype specimen of Calcardea junnei will be published by Mayr, Gingerich & Smith (2019), who reject the interpretation of this species as a heron, and claim that this bird resembled parrot-like taxon Vastanavis from the early Eocene of India. * A study on the identity of a parakeet specimen held at National Museums Scotland, interpreted as most likely originating from Mauritius by Cheke & Jansen (2016), is published by Jones et al. (2019), who consider this parakeet to be the only known skin specimen of extinct Réunion parakeet. * A review of the bird fossil assemblage from the Paleocene locality of Menat (Puy-de-Dôme, France), including a new fossil specimen with exceptional soft tissue preservation, is published by Mayr, Hervet & Buffetaut (2019). * A revision of bird fossils from the Eocene (Ypresian) fossil sites of the North American Okanagan Highlands, mainly in British Columbia (Canada), is published by Mayr et al. (2019), who report, among other findings, a skeleton of a possible member of the family Songziidae, and fossil wings which might constitute the earliest known record of Gaviiformes. * Remains of 32 species of seabirds and related taxa will be reported from the middle–late Pleistocene Shiriya local fauna (northeastern Japan) by Watanabe, Matsuoka & Hasegawa (2019). * A study on the date of extinction of the Tristan moorhen, the Inaccessible Island finch and the Tristan albatross on the main island of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, aiming to place these extinctions in the context of the changing island ecosystems of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is published by Bond, Carlson & Burgio (2019). * A study on the fossil bird remains from the Pliocene locality of Kanapoi (Kenya), indicating presence of many aquatic birds, will be published by Field (2019). * Description of Late Pleistocene and Holocene bird remains from Jerimalai and Matja Kuru 1 sites in East Timor will be published by Meijer, Louys & O'Connor (2019). New taxa Pterosaurs Research * Pycnofibers showing diagnostic features of feathers are reported in two specimens of anurognathid pterosaurs (probably belonging either to the genus Jeholopterus or Dendrorhynchoides) from the Jurassic of China by Yang et al. (2019). * Redescription of the holotype specimen of Mythunga camara will be published by Pentland & Poropat (2019). * A study on intervertebral foramina in Vectidraco, Anhanguera and Coloborhynchus, and on their implications for inferring palaeoecology and locomotion of these pterosaurs, is published by Martin‐Silverstone, Sykes & Naish (2019). New taxa Other archosaurs Research * Evidence from coprolites, isolated worn teeth, fossil regurgitates and crushed or bite-marked dicynodont bones, indicating that Triassic archosaur Smok wawelski was at least an occasional osteophage consuming bones in a manner comparable to tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaurs, is presented by Qvarnström, Ahlberg & Niedźwiedzki (2019). * A study on the histology and gross morphology of a growth series of femora of Dromomeron romeri is published by Griffin et al. (2019). * A study on the microstructure of the long bones (femur and tibiae) of Lewisuchus admixtus is published by Garcia Marsà, Agnolín & Novas (2019). * A study on the anatomy of the braincase of Silesaurus opolensis will be published by Piechowski, Niedźwiedzki & Tałanda (2019). * A study on the phylogenetic relationships of Pisanosaurus mertii will be published by Baron (2019), who interprets this taxon as a likely silesaurid. References Category:Fossil taxa described in 2019